Stop the smuggling of dogs to Vietnam

"Packed tight into wire baskets -- sometimes 20 or more to a cage -- animal rights activists say as many as 200,000 live dogs every year are smuggled from northeast Thailand across the Mekong River destined for restaurants in Vietnam. Dehydrated, stressed, some even dying of suffocation on the trip, the dogs are often stacked 1,000 to a truck on a journey that lasts for days. "Obviously when you've got dogs stacked on top of each other they start biting each other because they are so uncomfortable, any kind of movement then the dog next to the one that's being crushed is going to bite back," said Tuan Bendixsen, director of Animals Asia Foundation Vietnam, a Hanoi-based animal welfare group. When they arrive in Vietnam, the suffering doesn't end there. A common belief is that stress and fear releases hormones that improve the taste of the meat, so the dogs are placed in stress cages that restrict their movement. Eventually, the dogs are either bludgeoned to death or have their throats cut in front of other dogs who are awaiting the same fate. In some cases, they've been known to be skinned alive".After reading this report on CNN this morning all I can do is feel nauseous and disgusted that such barbaric acts go unpunished, or barely reprimanded. Animal welfare laws must be put in place to stop the organized criminals from continuing this abhorrent practices.

Stop the smuggling of dogs to Vietnam. Animal welfare laws have been enforced in many countries to stop the unnecessary suffering of animals. The Thai parliament should carefully review the laws in place and enact as soon as possible laws that prevent the smuggling of dogs to Vietnam. This is not about whether it is right or wrong to eat dog meat, but with all due respect, the humane treatment of animals whether it is for consumption or not must be enforced.Thank you for your time and efforts in this matter.